Durmitor National Park - mountain range in the Dinaric Alps, Montenegro

Durmitor National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed national park in Montenegro. The park consists of two connected parts - Tara River Valley (or canyon) and Durmitor mountain range, with the tallest mountain, Babatov Kuk, rising 2523 m above sea level.

Understand

History

Landscape

Flora and fauna

Climate

Get in

By car

Car is definitely the best way to get to Durmitor, as the public transportation is limited in Montenegro. You can use the M-3 (E762) road going from Bosnia and passing though another scenic location, Piva river valley. From Podgorica, use the road M-6 to Žabljak. From Sebia, use the road M-6 in the opposite direction, going though Prijepolje and Pljevlja. This road uses the Tara River Bridge, one of the park highlights.

Fees and permits

The entry fee to the park is 3€ per day (2022-08-04).

If you enter through a forest path or simply any other entry other than the main gate near Crno Jezero/Black lake you might possibly not encounter a single ticket check but on weekends there might be rangers around the popular lakes checking and selling tickets.

Get around

OpenStreetMap have a very good map data of Durmitor national park. Mapy.cz seems to implement this data the best for hiking, because they provide information about height and elevation profiles. Don't forget to download Montenegro maps for offline use, as the cell signal may be weak in the mountains.

By car

There are numerous roads in Durmitor national park navigable by car. M-6 and M-3 are two lanes highways in good shape. When going from Žabljak to Plužine, you do not have go all the way south to their crossing, but you can use the road through Sedlo pass, which is paved, but a bit narrow. If you driving outside the main highways, watch for cyclists and sheep.

By bike

Durmitor is popular among cyclists , as mark bikepaths are plentiful. The ascents are however very steep or long, so bike might be useful only for experienced bikers.

See

• Most na Tari (Đurđevića Tara Bridge), 43.1505322°, 19.2950839°. 170 metres tall road bridge above Tara river canyon, offering epic views 2018-10-28
• Sedlo pass, 43.0984892°, 19.0509914°. The mountain pass on the R16 (also called P14) road is easily reachable by car or bike, lying at 1900 meters above sea level. The road there is very scenic in both ways, and you can start many hikes from here, with the tallest mountain of Durmitor, Babotov Kuk, being only 4.9 km far by walking. The parking here is marked as paid at OpenStreetMap, but there is no one to collect any fee. 2018-10-28

Do

• Zipline. You can cross Tara river on zipline next to the Tara Bridge. There are three or more companies offering this, just ask around the bridge and haggle the prices (can I get a discount?). The zipline staff speak English.

Buy

• There is a market near the Tara bridge, selling some traditional products, such as local honey or Rakija.

Eat

Drink

Sleep

There are numerous accommodation options in Durmitor, as this is one of the main Montenegro tourist destinations. Campsites are plentiful, especially around Žabljak, but there are also numerous hotels, often newly build.

Lodging

Camping

• Torba, 43.1029050°, 19.0163417°. A useful camp near the pass on M-16 road passing thought the park. 2018-10-28
• Kod Boće, 43.1438667°, 19.1158317°. A good campsite near Žabljak, on the trail towards Sedlo pass. They do registration here. 2018-10-28

Backcountry

Stay safe

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